THE GOSPEL MUST GO FORWARD
Today we have two stories, separated by distance.
When you read the first, what do you think?
Do you think, is Jesus being mean? If that is your reaction, I am glad that your eyes are on Jesus.
Let’s try and sort this out.
Mark doesn’t worry too much about making sure that his prior scene connects with his current scene. We’re not sure how Jesus got this far north into the region of Tyre and Sidon, perhaps he is again looking for a rest. Try as he might, the text says, “he could not be hidden.”
No break for Jesus. Is that why he comes across as he does?
Perhaps, but the there is much too this scene.
Referring to her as a Greek is not meant as a nationality. It means she is not a Jew. Her speaking to Jesus is her breaking all the religious traditions…hmmm…religious traditions. We noted on the previous story that Jesus did not care for religious traditions when they violated God’s Word.
Looking closely at Jesus’ words, we note he says, “Let the children be fed first…” Note the word, “first”. The desperate woman is not without hope. Like any mother, she presses the point, even if it means humiliating herself. Her persistence pays off.
What of this scene? What is Mark’s point. It may be:
For all who truly seek Jesus, even if it means breaking through all the religious norms, he will find them.
Donald English in The Message of Mark writes, “Opposed by his own religious leaders, doubted by his family, followed often for the wrong reasons by the crowd, accompanied by disciples who only partially understand, yet recognized by evil spirits and trusted implicitly by the desperate…”
At each turn, as Jesus has been proclaiming the Good News, he has largely been rejected by the exact people who should have received it with gladness—yet in the end those who seek him, receive him.
The same is true of the second scene. Another person who would be shunned and outside the group of “acceptable” people. I love that there is an unidentified group, the “they” who brought him to Jesus and begged him. Love these guys. Love Jesus response.
At this juncture we get a glimpse, that the crowds get a glimpse, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”
We all need more than a glimpse. We all need the Gospel, Jesus, to continue to press forward.
How do you process Jesus behavior?